AustLit

'Set in the 1830s during the convict transportation era between England and her colonies on the other side of the world, thirteen-year-old Walter Paisley is convicted of burglary and transported to Van Diemen's Land to serve his sentence. Tara Harford and her father are wrongfully charged before they are separated and sent abroad to serve life sentences as convicts of the Crown. Walter must learn to find hope amidst the ever-rising challenges of his life as a convict. Tara is unaware of the dangers threatening her survival that come with her choice to find her father. Beautifully written in the historical world of the Port Arthur convict settlement in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), suspense and romance combine to create a compelling and captivating story of the intertwining lives of a convict boy who tries to find his place in society, and an innocent girl who is thrust into a world she was never meant to be part of.' (Publication summary)